Energy and Environment

Alex is determined to fight the existential threat of climate change. Having grown up in a low-income, heavily polluted neighborhood, he is dedicated to ensuring that every family has access to clean air and clean water. He served for six years as Chair of the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications, where he led the development of California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate policies that now serve as a model for the rest of the country. Alex’s environmental leadership has continued in the U.S. Senate. In addition to cosponsoring the Green New Deal, Alex introduced sweeping legislation to electrify our nation’s school buses and protect over one million acres of public lands in California, increasing access to nature and preserving California’s natural treasures for generations to come.

Alex understands the threat that increasingly frequent and catastrophic natural disasters and extreme weather events pose to California and the Western United States. That’s why he fought to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for flood control infrastructure to protect communities from catastrophic floods and rising sea levels. His bill the POWER ON Act was signed into law by President Biden to prevent utility outages caused by natural disasters like wildfires and other extreme weather events. And while California continues to face the threat of devastating wildfires, Alex led the successful passage of the FIRE Act, to modernize the way FEMA prepares for and responds to wildfires.

Recent News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act to permanently ensure wildfire survivors are not taxed on compensation they...
28 California lawmakers to President Trump, Secretary Burgum: “Further industrialization off our coast will inevitably pollute our beaches, spelling disaster for California’s economy and detrimentally impacting the rest of the country, which relies on California as an economic engine.” WASHINGTON,...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Sharice Davids (D-Kan.-03) led 88 lawmakers in pushing Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership to protect electric vehicle (EV) investments while reauthorizing bipartisan...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act to permanently ensure wildfire survivors are not taxed on compensation they...
28 California lawmakers to President Trump, Secretary Burgum: “Further industrialization off our coast will inevitably pollute our beaches, spelling disaster for California’s economy and detrimentally impacting the rest of the country, which relies on California as an economic engine.” WASHINGTON,...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Sharice Davids (D-Kan.-03) led 88 lawmakers in pushing Senate Environment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership to protect electric vehicle (EV) investments while reauthorizing bipartisan...
Draft proposal seeks six California lease sales despite clear legal limits and decades of bipartisan coastal protections WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and House Natural Resources...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded over $297 million to 24 California projects to help transition to low-emission bus models across the state. The funding...
Lead sponsors of West Coast Ocean Protection Act and Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act condemn efforts that would devastate coastal communities WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with House...
California Lawmakers: This Administration “is focused on vindictive, destructive actions that will keep us dependent on innovations and expertise from foreign competitors and further raise costs for American families.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both...
One of the most significant steps forward in federal wildfire policy in recent decades streamlines processes to protect communities while restoring forest health WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Curtis (R-Utah), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Tim Sheehy...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) blasted the Department of Energy’s (DOE) cancellation of all $1.2 billion Padilla secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES)...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, announced bipartisan legislation to help permanently conserve forestlands and mitigate increasing wildfire risks. Representatives John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08) and Ken Calvert...